This is a first for Châteauroux, the prefecture of Indre received thegeneral assembly of the network of Imperial Cities this week-end. A fifty representatives from 23 municipalities linked to the history of Napoleon or Napoleon III were present.
Valençay future city-partner of the network of imperial cities?
For Châteauroux, which joined this network in 2018, it is obviously a source of great pride and also a tourist opportunity as this network expands and takes shape. A network that could eventually accommodate another town in Indre, Valençay. “As a partner city. In view of its link with Talleyrandspecifies Alexis Rousseau-Jouhennet, communication director of Châteauroux Métropole, mayor of Levroux and promoter of this imperial history, we would be two towns in Indre to join this network. And it’s good because it’s really a story, a heritage that we discover here in Châteauroux, with a route that is dedicated to this Napoleonic past..” Valençay is already one of the destinations of the “imperial legend weekends” offered by the site of the Tourist Office of Châteauroux Métropole
Tourist asset
The route woven by the network of Imperial Cities aims to transmit the Napoleonic legend in its entirety without omitting the less glorious passages. Thus the island of Saint Helena and the city of Waterloo are part of the network of imperial cities. A route which also has, for the municipalities concerned, a tourist interest. “There are some who go around the imperial cities, underlines Alexis Rousseau-Jouhennet_, Here in Châteauroux, we make them discover the Raoul castle, birthplace of General Bertrand, and the Bertrand museum, which was one of his residences._” General Bertrand, grand marshal of the palace, was a close friend among those close to him, and faithful among Napoleon’s followers, accompanying him in his 2 exiles and becoming one of the Emperor’s legatees.
It is within the framework of the Bertrand Museum that the General Assembly of the imperial cities has appointed as new president Arnaud Péricard, mayor of Saint-Germain-en-Laye who moreover has points of attachment with Berry, in particular a residence in Argenton/Creuse